3️⃣ things we learned as Venezuela and Ecuador send Mexico and Jamaica out | OneFootball

Copa América Group B was wrapped up Sunday evening as Venezuela and Ecuador advanced to the quarter-finals, while Mexico and Jamaica crashed out.

Here is what we made of the events in Austin and Glendale.

Missed calls or not, Mexico weren’t good enough

Mexico may feel that the bulk of the big decisions didn’t go their way against Ecuador Sunday evening, but that doesn’t change the fact they simply didn’t play well enough to deserve a spot in the quarter-finals.

Mexico managed to find the back of the net just once in 270 minutes of play in the group despite fashioning a solid amount of big chances for the likes of Santi Giménez and Julián Quiñones. The former extended his goalless drought for El Tri to 12 straight matches, showing the major disparity between his club form and his international form.

While Venezuela were clearly the strongest team in the group, and Ecuador fought with all of their might, this will be seen as a catastrophic performance for one of the 2026 World Cup host nations, particularly after winning their group opener against Jamaica.

Venezuela are the dark horse we didn’t know we needed

Venezuela are not one of the flashy names you think of when somebody mentions South American football, but they have been supremely potential and have shown moments of real quality on their way to a first-place finish in the group.

Salomón Rondón is proving that age is but a number leading the line, while a rearguard comprised of veterans that let only one goal into the back of the net through the three games, and as a result, we have a perfect mix for tournament success.

With Canada up next in the quarter-final, a semi-final appearance would not be a surprise for Venezuela, and once you are that close to glory, who knows what kind of miracles you can pull off.

Ecuador just find a way

It doesn’t seem to matter what stood in Ecuador’s way, they just seemed to find a way to deal with adversity with each passing game in Group B.

Though they only needed a point to advance Sunday evening against Mexico, Ecuador were sloppy in possession and did little to threaten their opponents on the night.

But what from what we saw from Félix Sánchez’s side, if they had needed to win they may have just found a way to do that.

It’s Argentina up next for Ecuador, which is perhaps the toughest draw they could get in the tournament. The odds will certainly be stacked against them when it comes to a showdown with the world champions, but they surely won’t make it easy for Leo Messi and his mates.